


Reunion

by wolfie_winchester



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel Needs a Hug, Castiel-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag, Episode: s11e21 All In The Family, Fix-It, M/M, Stop Hurting Cas 2k16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 23:06:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6828907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfie_winchester/pseuds/wolfie_winchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Sam, Dean, and the others are returned safely to the bunker, Lucifer and Castiel get to have a long awaited conversation with Chuck. Plans are devised to deal with Amara and for once, things seem like they'll finally be okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion

“What happened?!” 

 

Donatello voices the same thought that’s forming in Dean’s head as he lands in the Impala, in the middle of the bunker. One minute, he’d been standing in the middle of nowhere with Amara, and the next, she was just gone. His heart had leaped into his throat at the thought of her discovering Sam and the others before they could rescue Lucifer and Cas. He might be off limits to her, but he had no doubt that she’d kill them all if they got in her way. 

 

For now, though, he doesn’t have to worry about it. Sam isn’t the only one sighing in relief at the sight of the bunker’s familiar walls. Without Amara clouding his mind with her dark, alien pull, he can breathe again. His head is clear and as the adrenaline dies down now that they’re not in danger, he allows himself to fully assess their situation. He sees Lucifer in the front seat, next to Sam, and the sight of his torn up face sends a pang through his chest. He wonders if Cas is hurt too, or if he’s found somewhere to hide from it all in some hidden corner in his mind. 

 

“Where are we?” 

 

The professor-turned-prophet pushes open his door and the rest of them follow suit, stepping out into the hallway. Dean makes a face when he realizes that the Impala’s front and back bumpers are literally right up against the walls. He has no idea how they got here, but more importantly, he has no idea how the hell he’s going to get the car out of here. 

 

“Home,” Sam replies, surprise coloring his voice. 

 

When they enter the war room, Chuck greets them, still holding a carton of Chinese food in his hand. He smiles at them and shrugs. 

 

“I do answer some prayers,” he says, setting his food down on the map. 

 

Dean glances over at Sam, suspecting that whatever must have gone down with Amara, he must have asked Chuck for help. There’s gratefulness in his brother’s eyes, along with that ever present sort of awe that he’s had ever since they found out Chuck is God. He can’t help the tiny smile forming on his face. After all this time, Sam’s faith finally paid off. 

 

“So,” he says, turning to Chuck, “not that I don’t appreciate you saving us and all... but you couldn’t have parked us somewhere else?” 

 

“Sorry. My teleporting skills are a little rusty,” he says. He snaps his fingers. “There. Baby’s safe and sound in the garage now. I think.” 

 

The ‘I think’ tacked on to the end there makes him a little nervous, but he’s pretty sure Chuck knows what he’s doing. He hopes. 

 

“Father.” 

 

Dean turns to see Lucifer standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall with nothing less than complete shock on his face. For a brief, brief moment, he feels a stab of sympathy for the devil. Dean knows that look. It’s the same way he looked when John showed up after they’d searched for him for months. 

 

“You’ve changed,” Chuck comments. 

 

“I could say the same about you,” Lucifer replies. 

 

Chuck stares at the ruin of Lucifer’s face the way any parent would when they see their child in pain. He waves a hand and Dean watches as light engulfs Lucifer, bright enough that he has to shield his eyes to avoid being blinded. When it fades and Dean opens his eyes, there’s another person standing in the room where there wasn’t before. He recognizes Lucifer’s old vessel, Dean thinks his name was Nick or something like that. Which means - 

 

“Cas!” 

 

The blood and scarring is gone from Cas’ face and the angel looks around like he’s confused about how he got here. Dean barely refrains from crying with relief as he rushes over and pulls him into his arms. Cas is stiff as a board against him, and for a second, Dean fears what’s happened to him as a result of being Lucifer’s vessel for so long. But eventually, he feels Cas’ hands come up to clutch at his back. 

 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas says, the gravel in his voice the most comforting thing Dean’s heard in what feels like forever. 

 

“Hey, Cas,” Dean chokes out, burying his face in Cas’ shoulder. “I missed you.” 

 

“You did?” Cas sounds genuinely surprised by this and Dean lets out a watery laugh. 

 

“Of course I did. Ask Sam, all I’ve been doing for the past few weeks is worrying about you,” Dean says. “I’m sure I drove him a little nuts.” 

 

A quiet laugh stops Cas from responding in any way and Dean looks up at the noise.

 

“I hate to break up this touching reunion, but what exactly am I doing here?” 

 

Lucifer is staring at them with something like amusement, and Dean opens his mouth for a witty retort, but Sam cuts him off before he can say anything. 

 

“We already told you,” Sam all but snaps. There’s a combination of fear and anger on his face, and Dean feels the need to put himself between Lucifer and his brother. After all, he’s certain that if given the opportunity, Lucifer would possess Sam in a heartbeat even if he had to beat him into saying yes. “We need you and Chuck to work together to get rid of Amara.” 

 

“Oh, right,” Lucifer says, nodding. He turns to Chuck and Dean sees the same anger and disappointment he’d felt not a few days earlier. “And you really expect me to help you? After you locked me away for loving you more than these - these failed experiments? Did you really think healing me and giving me my own vessel would fix everything?” 

 

“No, I didn’t,” Chuck says honestly. He sighs and stuffs his hands in his pocket - a surprisingly human gesture for God to do. “But letting Amara destroy everything isn’t going to fix it either.” 

 

Lucifer scowls, but he doesn’t argue. He crosses his arms and leans back against the wall. 

 

“So. We’re just supposed to forget everything that happened, huh? That’s easier said than done.” 

 

“Lucifer-” 

 

“I’m not saying I won’t help you. She tortured me for  _ days _ , trying to get your attention,” he says, voice raising at the end. Chuck looks away guiltily. “I’ll help you, but don’t think I’m going to forgive you that easily.” 

 

“I don’t expect you to. I’m not asking for your forgiveness,” Chuck says. Lucifer scoffs and shakes his head. 

 

“What’s our plan, then? Last time we did this, we had Michael and Gabriel and Raphael. And as awesome as I am, I don’t think I can do it alone,” he says. 

 

“You won’t be alone.” 

 

Chuck snaps a finger and in between one blink and the next, Gabriel appears, lollipop hanging out of his mouth and looking as stunned as the rest of them. 

 

“Gabriel?” 

 

The archangel quickly recovers from his momentary shock and he grins around the candy in his mouth. 

 

“Bet you thought you saw the last of me, huh guys?” he asks. 

 

“Gabriel? As in the archangel?” Donatello pipes in. Gabriel winks at him. 

 

“The one and only!” he proclaims. “And you’re Donatello, right? How’s the prophet life been treating you so far?” 

 

Donatello looks too freaked out to answer and Dean kind of feels bad for him being dropped smack in the middle of this chaos that’s become their lives. 

 

“Oh, that bad huh?” Gabriel says. He shrugs. “Don’t worry, man. It’ll get better. Eventually. Maybe. If you don’t die horribly first, of course.” 

 

The professor turns white and with a frazzled shake of his head, he wanders off to the other room, muttering about needing a drink and life being so much simpler when he was still an atheist.

 

“You’re not helping,” Cas mumbles after he’s gone. He still looks a little shocked at seeing his brother alive again. When Gabriel’s eyes meet Cas’, they soften in a way that surprises Dean. He hadn’t thought that Gabriel could be anything but annoying. 

 

“Hey, Cas,” he says. “Good to see you again.” 

 

Dean’s not sure what he means by ‘again,’ but he supposes that’ll be something to ask about later, because Gabriel is already turning to Chuck and talking about angels and demons. Lucifer watches them carefully, but there’s something like relief in his features. He doesn’t know what that’s all about, but if he didn’t know any better, he might say that the fallen angel is actually happy to see his brother. 

 

“Even with two archangels, we won’t have enough power,” Chuck is saying. “Our best bet would be to unite everyone against her.” 

 

“Heaven and Hell, working together?” Dean says. He wants to scoff at the idea, but last time he’d checked, he’s pretty sure that Crowley wanted Amara gone just as much as the angels had. “How are we going to do that?” he asks instead. 

 

“If you two knuckleheads can get a hold of Crowley and convince him to help, that’ll take care of the demons,” Gabriel says. 

 

“And as for the angels,” Chuck adds, looking at his three sons. “I think it’s time we all went home.” 

 

“We?” Lucifer repeats, eyes widening slightly. 

 

“I know I locked you away, son, but... Heaven is still where I created you and your siblings. It’s still your home,” Chuck replies. 

 

Lucifer swallows hard and he nods. With a flutter of wings, he’s gone. 

 

“I’ll see you at home, Dad?” Gabriel asks, oddly serious for once. Chuck nods and then Gabriel disappears as well. Before Chuck can leave too, Cas steps out of Dean’s arms and crosses the room swiftly. 

 

“Castiel...” Chuck starts. He doesn’t get more than that out before Cas lets loose and punches him square in the jaw before either Sam or Dean can stop him.

 

“I trusted you! I had faith in you!” he shouts. “Why now? Why show up now when I’ve been asking for your help for  _ years _ ?” 

 

Chuck rubs at the spot where Cas had punched him. “I gave you free will, Cas. I wanted to see you use it. I wanted to see you think for yourself and find your own way without me holding your hand to guide you.” 

 

“You could have at least answered when I prayed to you,” Cas says, voice trembling. 

 

“I know,” Chuck says. He sighs. “I’m sorry.” 

 

“Yeah well, sorry isn’t going to cut it,” Cas says, echoing words Dean has said to him before. “You didn’t answer my question. Why now? Is it because she was torturing Lucifer?” 

 

“No,” Chuck says. “Contrary to what Amara believes, Lucifer isn’t my favorite.” 

 

“Then why?” 

 

“Because she needs to be stopped. And because it’s not Lucifer that I was worried about.” 

 

Cas squints and that little furrow forms in his brow that means he’s confused. Dean sees the moment that Cas puts two and two together, his eyes widening with disbelief. 

 

“Surely... surely you don’t mean me? Why would I be your favorite? After everything I’ve done? I’m the least worthy of your love, Father. I’m not... I’m not a hero like Sam and Dean. I’m not a very good angel and I’m a worse human. I don’t understand.” 

 

Dean’s heart aches at the conviction with which Cas so easily dismisses his worth. Thinking about it now, he’s done a pretty shitty job of showing Cas how much he means to them. To him. He doesn’t know what’s going on in Cas’ head and he suspects it’s nothing good if he felt like the only way he could help was by agreeing to be Lucifer’s vessel. When this is all said and done, the first thing he’s going to do is to find some way to prove to him how much they not just need, but want him here. 

 

“Castiel, you’re my favorite because you did exactly as I told you all those years ago. You loved my creations more than you loved me. And you loved them even more than I did. The other angels started to hate humans after a time. They started seeing them like I did - flawed, destructive, dangerous creatures. But you... you saw the good in them. You saw their potential and their capacity for kindness and love and happiness in a way I’d forgotten how to.” 

 

Cas is shaking, breathing erratically and Dean automatically comes over to pull him close and comfort him. He sees tears shining in his eyes and he looks on the verge of breaking down. Dean squeezes him lightly and Cas grips his shoulder as if to anchor himself. 

 

“The other angels say that too much heart was always your problem,” Chuck continues. “But that’s not true, is it?” He smiles and Cas swallows hard. “It’s your greatest strength.” 

 

With a near sob, Cas starts to crumble. If Dean weren’t there supporting him, he might have fallen to the ground in a heap. He holds onto the angel and tries his best to soothe him, rubbing his back and shushing him. 

 

“I... I don’t... I don’t believe you,” Cas cries. “I want to. But - but I can’t. I hurt so many people. I’ve done so much wrong th-that I don’t think I can ever make it right again. H-How could you ever think I was good?” 

 

“Everything you did was with the best intentions,” Chuck says, watching him sadly. “And before you go saying that thing about the road to Hell, I just want you to know that’s a bunch of bull.” 

 

Cas hiccups another sob and he clings to Dean tighter, still shaking like a leaf in the wind. There’s pain in Chuck’s eyes when Dean looks at him, like he wishes he could find some way to prove to his son that what he’s saying is true. 

 

“Maybe you could give us a minute?” Dean suggests quietly. Chuck nods and he walks away, picking up his Chinese food from earlier - probably cold now - and disappears down the hallway. With him gone, Dean turns his attention back to Cas. “Hey,” he says softly, “I’ve got you. I’m here. It’s all gonna be okay.”

 

The only indication he receives that Cas heard him at all is a tiny nod. Sam - who Dean is a little ashamed to say he’d almost forgotten was standing there until now - helps him take the shaken angel to his room. 

 

“You need anything?” Sam asks. He’s looking at Cas when he says it, but Dean is the one to respond. 

 

“I think we’re good,” he says. “We’ll come get you if anything changes.” 

 

Sam nods and he gets up, placing a large hand on Cas’ shoulder. 

 

“Hey, Cas?” 

 

Cas hums in acknowledgement. 

 

“I’m really glad you’re back. I missed you.” 

 

“...I missed you too.” 

 

Sam smiles and he pats Cas on the back gently before he heads to the door. He catches Dean’s attention before he leaves and mouths ‘take care of him.’ Dean gives him a thumbs up and Sam closes the door behind him. Once he’s gone, he slides a hand into Cas’ hair, earning a soft noise from the angel. Soft lips brush against his skin and he suppresses a shiver.

 

“How are you feeling?” Dean asks quietly. 

 

“Tired,” Cas sighs. He sniffles and wraps his arms around Dean again. “Relieved, I suppose. Angry. Upset. Happy.” His voice is getting rougher with every word until he lets out a frustrated huff. “I don’t know, Dean. I’m feeling many things at the moment.”

 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

 

Cas shakes his head. 

 

“Maybe later?” he asks, voice a plea. “I just... can you just hold me right now?” 

 

Dean smiles softly and nods, pressing a light kiss to the top of Cas’ head. No one else is here, and frankly, he doesn’t really care much at the moment if someone sees him. Cas needs him to be strong for him, to help him find a way to be okay again. Dean will do anything to make sure that happens. Cas deserves it, after all. He’s done so much, given so much for them time and time again. 

 

“Anything you want, Cas.” 

 

He feels Cas smile against his neck and it makes his heart warm. 

 

“Thank you, Dean.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So I haven't written anything in awhile because I have literally no inspiration for anything, but this last episode kind of irked me with its ending (not to mention the fact that all endings where Cas is still possessed by Lucifer kind of irk me) so I fixed it. I really hope that we'll get our angel back by the end of the season and that we actually deal with what he's feeling and he gets to BE HAPPY FOR ONCE BECAUSE HE DESERVES IT. 
> 
> But until then, I hope this is okay. 
> 
> Also, I brought Gabriel back because we all know he's alive and in witness protection somewhere waiting for the action to finally start. 
> 
> (PS: I should really just put all my fix-it/Cas-centric fics into one series called "Stop Hurting Cas 2KForever" because seriously. SERIOUSLY I AM SO TIRED OF MY BABY BEING HURT BY EVERYONE.)


End file.
